:Jessie's Girl

{{Infobox song

| name = Jessie's Girl

| cover = Jessie's Girl.jpg

| type = single

| B-side = Carry Me Away

| released = February 1981

| genre = Power pop{{cite web|first= Steve |last= Huey |title= Rick Springfield – Artist Biography |website= AllMusic |access-date= 4 May 2014 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rick-springfield-mn0000359613/biography |quote= After a solid decade's worth of work in the '70s, Rick Springfield turned into an international star in the early '80s thanks to the power pop classic "Jessie's Girl."}}

| length = 3:14

| label = RCA Records

| writer = Rick Springfield

| producer = Keith Olsen

| prev_title = Take a Hand

| prev_year = 1976

| next_title = I've Done Everything for You

| next_year = 1981

| misc = {{Audio sample

| type = single

| file = Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield.ogg

}}

"Jessie's Girl" is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog, which was released in February 1981.{{cite magazine|first= Dave |last= Ling |title= The real story behind Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl |magazine= Classic Rock |date= 16 April 2015 |access-date= 24 January 2020 |url= https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-stories-behind-the-songs-rick-springfield-jessie-s-girl}} The song is about unrequited love of a young man for his best friend's girlfriend.

Upon its release in the United States in 1981, "Jessie's Girl" was slow to break out. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 28 March{{cite book|first= Joel |last= Whitburn |author-link= Joel Whitburn |year= 1991 |title= Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 |publisher= Record Research Inc |location= Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |page= 545}} but took 19 weeks to hit No. 1{{cite magazine|first= Paul |last= Grein |title= Chartbeat |magazine= Billboard |date= 8 May 1982 |volume= 94 |issue= 18 |page= 6 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT2}} reaching that position on 1 August,{{cite magazine|title= Billboard Hot 100 |magazine= Billboard |date= 1 August 1981 |volume= 93 |issue= 30 |page= 68 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ASQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT67}} one of the slowest climbs to No. 1 at that time. It remained in that position for two weeks and would be Springfield's only No. 1 hit. The song was at No. 1 when MTV launched on 1 August 1981.{{cite web|title= Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield |website= Songfacts |access-date= 4 May 2014 |url= http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3590}} The song ultimately spent 32 weeks on the chart.{{cite magazine|title= Rick Springfield – Jessie's Girl – Chart History |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 11 May 2018 |url= https://www.billboard.com/artist/rick-springfield/chart-history/hsi/}} Billboard ranked it as No. 5 for all of 1981.

The song also peaked at No. 1 in Springfield's native country of Australia and later won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards.

"Jessie's Girl" was released in the United Kingdom in March 1984 and peaked at No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1984.

Record World said that "a strong rhythm guitar fuels the pop-rocker while Rick's determined vocal works the hook."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=March 21, 1981|page=12|accessdate=2023-02-26|title=Single Picks|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-03-21.pdf}}

Springfield recorded an acoustic version of the song for his 1999 album, Karma.

Background

Rick Springfield was taking a stained glass class. Also in the class was his friend Gary as well as Gary's girlfriend. Springfield initially wanted to use the actual name of his friend, but instead decided to go with a different name. He chose "Jessie" because he was wearing a T-shirt with the name of football player Ron Jessie on it.{{cite magazine|title= "Jessie's Girl" cracks the Top 40 |magazine= Entertainment Weekly |date= 7 May 1999 |access-date= 4 May 2014 |url= https://ew.com/article/1999/05/07/jessies-girl-cracks-top-40/}}

Springfield says that he does not remember the name of the girlfriend, and he believes that the real woman who inspired the song has no idea that she was "Jessie's Girl". He told Oprah Winfrey, "I was never really introduced to her. It was always just, like, panting from afar."{{cite web|title= Is Rick Springfield Jessie's Girl a Real Person? |publisher= The Oprah Winfrey Show |url= http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200802/20080226/slide_20080226_350_103.jhtml |archive-date= 6 July 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080706200642/http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200802/20080226/slide_20080226_350_103.jhtml}} Springfield told Songfacts that Winfrey's people tried to find her, and they got as far back as finding out that the teacher of the class had died two years previously and that his class records were thrown out one year after his death. In 2006, the song was named No. 20 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s".{{cite web|title= 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's: #1 –100 |publisher= VH1 Classic |url= http://www.vh1classic.com/view/playlist/1553683/59441/100_Greatest_Songs_of_The_80_s_1_100/Jessie_s_Girl/index.jhtml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090722172607/http://www.vh1classic.com/view/playlist/1553683/59441/100_Greatest_Songs_of_The_80_s_1_100/Jessie_s_Girl/index.jhtml |archive-date= 22 July 2009}}

Personnel

Credits sourced from Mix{{cite web|title=Classic Tracks: Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl"|url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-track-rick-springfield-jessies-girl-367585|access-date=2023-05-18|website=mixonline.com|date=June 2013 }}

Rick Springfield - lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitars
Neil Giraldo - lead guitars, bass guitar
Gabriel Katona - synthesizers
Mike Baird - drums

Chart performance

=Weekly charts=

scope="row"\|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web\|title= Australia No. 1 hits -- 1980's \|website= World Charts \|access-date= 4 May 2014 \|url= http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus80.htm \|url-status= dead \|archive-date= 9 January 2017 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170109053925/http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/chartfeatures/aus/aus80.htm}} \|1
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1981) !Peak position
{{singlechart\|Canadatopsingles\|6\|chartid=0363\|access-date=26 June 2013\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|New Zealand\|21\|artist=Rick Springfield\|song=Jessie's Girl\|access-date=26 June 2013\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardhot100\|1\|artist=Rick Springfield\|access-date=January 20, 2022\|rowheader=true}}
{{singlechart\|Billboardmainstreamrock\|10\|artist=Rick Springfield\|access-date=January 20, 2022\|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"\|US Cash Box{{cite magazine\|title= CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 25, 1981 \|magazine= Cash Box \|url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19810725.html \|archive-date= 17 September 2012 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120917021001/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19810725.html}} \|1
scope="row"\|US Record World{{cite magazine\|title= Record World Singles \|magazine= Record World \|date= 1 August 1981 \|page= 25 \|access-date= 17 September 2017 \|issn= 0034-1622 \|url= http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-08-01.pdf}} \|1

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1984)

!Peak
position

{{singlechart|Ireland2|25|song=Jessie's Girl|access-date=26 June 2013|rowheader=true}}

{{singlechart|UK|43|artist=Rick Springfield|song=Jessie's Girl|date=19840401|access-date=26 June 2013|refname="UK"|rowheader=true}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1981) !Position
scope="row"\|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web\|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1981 \|publisher= Kent Music Report \|issue= 393 \|page= 7 \|via= Imgur \|date= 4 January 1982 \|access-date= 11 January 2022 \|url= https://i.imgur.com/RgsDOOc.jpg}}{{cite web\|title= Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s \|publisher= Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien \|access-date= 4 May 2014 \|url= http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275}} \|15
scope="row"\|Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles){{cite magazine\|title= Top 100 Singles of 1981 \|magazine= RPM \|publisher= Library and Archives Canada \|date= 26 December 1981 \|volume= 35 \|issue= 22 \|url= http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=uie74fmgo4k6061g6seh59q622 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140504040913/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=uie74fmgo4k6061g6seh59q622 \|archive-date= 4 May 2014}} \|55
scope="row"\|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web\|title= Top 100 Hits for 1981 \|website= The Longbored Surfer \|access-date= 4 May 2014 \|url= http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1981}} \|5
scope="row"\|US Cash Box{{cite magazine\|title= The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1981 \|magazine= Cash Box \|url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html \|archive-date= 18 September 2012 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120918145923/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html}} \|3

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1981)

!Position

scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1981 |publisher= Kent Music Report |issue= 393 |page= 7 |via= Imgur |date= 4 January 1982 |access-date= 11 January 2022 |url= https://i.imgur.com/RgsDOOc.jpg}}{{cite web|title= Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s |publisher= Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien |access-date= 4 May 2014 |url= http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275}}

|15

scope="row"|Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles){{cite magazine|title= Top 100 Singles of 1981 |magazine= RPM |publisher= Library and Archives Canada |date= 26 December 1981 |volume= 35 |issue= 22 |url= http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=uie74fmgo4k6061g6seh59q622 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140504040913/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=uie74fmgo4k6061g6seh59q622 |archive-date= 4 May 2014}}

|55

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web|title= Top 100 Hits for 1981 |website= The Longbored Surfer |access-date= 4 May 2014 |url= http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1981}}

scope="row"|US Cash Box{{cite magazine|title= The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1981 |magazine= Cash Box |url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html |archive-date= 18 September 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120918145923/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html}}

=All-time charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1958–2018) !Position
scope="row"\|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine\|title= Hot 100 Turns 60 \|magazine= Billboard \|access-date= 5 January 2018 \|url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary}} \|186

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (1958–2018)

!Position

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|title= Hot 100 Turns 60 |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 5 January 2018 |url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary}}

|186

=Certifications=

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Rick Springfield|title=Jessie's Girl|award=Gold|relyear=1981|certyear=1981}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Rick Springfield|title=Jessie's Girl|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2024|id=15457-4872-1|access-date=June 7, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Rick Springfield|title=Jessie_s Girl|award=Gold|relyear=1981|certyear=1981|salesamount=1,961,928|salesref={{cite web|url=http://www.defjampromo.com/files/2009/10/BB-Digital-Songs-Chart-Wk.-Ending-6-23-16.pdf|title=Nielsen SoundScan Charts June 23, 2016|work=DefJamPromo|publisher=Nielsen|date=August 3, 2022}}}}

Coheed and Cambria sequel

On 21 August 2020, the American progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria released a music video entitled "Jessie's Girl 2" to their official YouTube channel.{{cite news|first= Josh |last= Johnson |title= Coheed and Cambria continues the story of "Jessie's Girl" with new song, "Jessie's Girl 2" |publisher= ABC News Radio |date= 21 August 2020 |access-date= 29 August 2020 |url= http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2020/8/21/coheed-and-cambria-continues-the-story-of-jessies-girl-with.html}} The video depicts Springfield, who supplies some of the song's vocals, working in a bar while the titular "Jessie's Girl" wreaks havoc. The lyrics state that the protagonist from the original song was successful in stealing the Girl away from Jessie, but realizes that she is mentally unstable. The protagonist muses that he was likely set up by Jessie, in order for him to be rid of the woman,{{cite web|last=Rea|first=Carla|title= Jessie's Girl 2: He Got Jessie's Girl - But There's a Twist |publisher= 96.3 KKLZ |date= 24 August 2020 |access-date= 27 August 2020 |url= https://963kklz.com/2020/08/24/jessies-girl-2-he-got-jessies-girl-but-theres-a-twist/}} and that he (the protagonist) is now trapped in a loveless marriage with children and a future he did not want. The video ends with the Girl stealing the barkeeper's keys and escaping.{{cite magazine|first= Maureen Lee |last= Lenker |title= Exclusive: Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' gets murderous sequel in Coheed and Cambria music video |magazine= Entertainment Weekly |date= 21 August 2020 |access-date= 27 August 2020 |url= https://ew.com/music/exclusive-rick-springfield-jessies-girl-sequel-song-coheed-and-cambria-video/}} The song also references Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" via lyrics that mention the protagonist changing his number.

The band's frontman, Claudio Sanchez, stated that the song is "kind of like a National Lampoon’s movie meets So I Married an Axe Murderer."{{cite web|first= Spencer |last= Kaufman |title= Coheed and Cambria unleash "Jessie's Girl 2" featuring Rick Springfield: Stream |website= Consequence of Sound |date= 21 August 2020 |access-date= 27 August 2020 |url= https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/08/coheed-and-cambria-jessies-girl-2-rick-springfield/}} Sanchez had originally come up with the idea of a sequel during a 2019 studio session and later approached Springfield to pitch the idea via an Instagram Live session.{{cite web|first= Chad |last= Childers |title= Coheed & Cambria Give Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' a Sequel |website= Loudwire |date= 21 August 2020 |access-date= 27 August 2020 |url= https://loudwire.com/coheed-and-cambria-rick-springfield-jessies-girl-2-sequel/}} Springfield liked the draft prepared by Coheed and Cambria and agreed to participate.{{cite magazine|first= Katherine |last= Turman |title= Coheed and Cambria Share 'Jessie's Girl 2' Video Featuring Rick Springfield |magazine= Spin |date= 21 August 2020 |access-date= 27 August 2020 |url= https://www.spin.com/2020/08/coheed-and-cambria-share-jessies-girl-2-video-featuring-rick-springfield/}}

Coheed and Cambria released the single digitally and as a 7-inch single in September 2020.

In popular culture

In regards to the song's use in films such as Boogie Nights (1997) and 13 Going on 30 (2004) over 20 years after its original release, Springfield said, "I'm thrilled by it. As a writer, all you can ask is that a song has legs. It has an appeal that keeps coming back."{{cite news |first= Heather |last= Murtagh |title= Are you ready to rock?: '80s legend Rick Springfield to perform at county fair |newspaper= The Daily Journal |date= 18 June 2010 |access-date= 4 May 2014 |url= http://archives.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=133965 |archive-date= 4 May 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140504035830/http://archives.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=133965 |url-status= dead }}

"Jessie's Girl" was covered on Glee in the first season episode "Laryngitis" (2010). Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) sings it to Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) to express his opinions about her relationship with her then-boyfriend, Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff). This version was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2010.{{cite web|title= ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Singles |publisher= Australian Recording Industry Association |url= http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.auaccreds2010.htm |access-date= 6 August 2010}}